NBC News "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Law Enforcement and Minorities Affected by War on Drugs

Interview

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CHUCK TODD:

Senator Corker, let me start with you. You tweeted this on Friday: "Our country has been shaken by senseless violence this week and I am horrified by the tragedy that unfolded overnight in Dallas." Obviously, a sentiment a lot of people share. How much outrage needs to be expressed before we start feeling as if we can do something about this?

SENATOR BOB CORKER:

Well, look, we are doing something about it. I mean, I thought the response in Dallas was the kind of response that needs to take place. This is mostly a local issue. And individual mayors and police chiefs and others responded in an appropriate way. As mayor, one of the things that I knew and I'm sure Cory knew the same thing that when the morale at a police department is low, when people don't feel supported in police departments, folks are being hurt unnecessarily.

So look, it's the number one responsibility that we have is to keep our citizens safe and secure, to make sure that they are professionalized. But the fact is that it's a breakdown in society when things like what happened in Dallas where there's moral depravity of this individual, took the lives of people who were protecting folks, who were demonstrating peacefully.

That is something that all of us should cry out about and to show support for these men and women in uniform that do what they do on a daily basis, mostly supported, but in so many cases, feeling like they're under assault by the general public. And again, when one of their officers, when someone acts out inappropriately, it hurts them, too. They want to make sure that the legal process works when that breaks down. But the fact is mostly, these are selfless people who are protecting our citizens, causing kids to be able to go to school and people will be able to go to work, and that's what we ought to be talking about today is their greatness. There are flaws that exist, but their greatness, what they do on our behalf.

CHUCK TODD:

Senator Booker, you heard obviously Senator Corker there and he also said this is a local issue. Is there a federal government role here? When you were mayor, you had a very challenging police department that had a challenging history to it in Newark. What role did you want the federal government to play then and what role should the federal government be playing now?

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

Well, first of all, we have 18,000 police departments in our country and many of them are significantly under resourced. There's few groups as I've ever seen in America that show the daily courage, especially urban police officers, where there's a lot of gun violence. We have officers dying every single year on duty. And we should be doing a lot more as a nation to support those officers.

And programs that have come from the federal government in the past have supported our local officers. And now at a time that we know that there's ways not only to protect our officers, that we need to be doing more of and affirming the fact that they are doing very dangerous jobs. That when officers leave their families, those families fear for their safety and pray for their return.

We also know that there is a challenge with America, where we have invested, unfortunately, is in a war on drugs, which has been profoundly painful to our nation with a 500 percent increase in incarceration in our country, disproportionately affecting poor and disproportionately affecting minorities. African-Americans have no difference than whites in using drugs or dealing drugs, but are about 3.7 times more likely to be arrested. We now know local police officers, with the right training, could address issues like de-escalation, can address issues like implicit racial bias.

That even people like the Head of the F.B.I., Director Comey, talk passionately about the need for this country to address implicit racial bias. So we need to invest in our local departments, do a lot of the things that some progressive departments are doing that are de-escalating situations, lowering police involved shootings and addressing the implicit racial bias that exists in this country.

CHUCK TODD:

Let me go to the larger issue here, though, that I am concerned about, which is: Is this Presidential campaign and are these two presidential candidates suited to meet the moment that's necessary? Senator Corker, you know the rhetoric on the campaign trail has been heated and it's been divisive. The country believes both candidates are polarizing for various reasons and different reasons. I'm going to start with you. Senator Corker, how does Donald Trump make the case that he can unify this country and heal these wounds? And then, I'll ask Senator Booker to make the case on the other side.

SENATOR BOB CORKER:

Look, I think both of the candidates, their challenge over the coming weeks is to show that they can do that. I think there is going to be a sincere effort within the Trump campaign to do so. My guess is the same thing will be happening in the Clinton campaign.

There is no question, put this campaign aside, look, the conversation in America has been way divisional. It's not been appropriate, it's been that way for some time. And it adds to this. But let's get back to it again. You know, the mayor of a city is where most of this occurs. And I'm not in any way criticizing what happened in Dallas, but it's those local efforts that actually bring people together.

No doubt the discourse, no doubt the videos that people can see, no doubt those things affect things throughout our country, but look, I hope that both of these candidates candidly will rise to the occasion and on this particular issue, bring people together. Millennials, let's think about it, millennials in our country today probably are more embracing of diversity than any generation we've had.

And it's my hope, again, after this tremendous crisis that's occurred, this tragedy, that our country will focus more on unity and not division. And I hope both campaigns will take advantage of that.

CHUCK TODD:

Senator Booker, let me ask it to you this way, though, about Hillary Clinton, can she be a president that helps with racial reconciliation in a better way than President Obama?

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

So let me just say this, we have to all understand we have a country with deep reservoirs of love. We are good people. We are well intentioned people. And when called upon, we rise to an occasion. This is such an occasion. And I'm going to be very blunt. I've watched in pain when I see a presidential candidate, all of our words matter, whether you're a citizen of a presidential candidate, words matter.

And this is a time where we need courageous empathy, where we need undeterred love. And so, when I hear a presidential candidate like Donald Trump gratuitously demeaning women, demeaning Muslims, demeaning Latinos at a time where our country needs reconciliation, we need people that bind our wounds and build bridges across out cachesims. To see someone so callously stoking hate and fear and inflaming divide, this is not the person to be president of the United States, I believe ever, but definitely not at a time when we need a healer, a reconciler and somebody to remind us that as a nation, our differences matter.

CHUCK TODD:

All right.

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

But our country matters more.

CHUCK TODD:

Senator Booker, I understand you made the case against Mr. Trump, but how does Hillary Clinton, who is almost as polarizing and as divisive, how does she make the case that she's the candidate here for reconciliation?

SENATOR BOOKER:

I patently disagree with you on issues of race and religious diversity that she is in any way polarizing. If anything, I've watched her in black communities and white communities and even after this tragedy, put forth the spirit of America, which is an understanding that as our founders said in the Declaration of Independence, this is a time we need to mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. And she has manifested that on issues of race, of religion, of gender diversity. She is someone that can build our bridges and far more than the alternative.

CHUCK TODD:

All right.

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

Someone who is injecting more divisiveness in this country through his rhetoric, through his affiliations.

CHUCK TODD:

Okay.

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

And actually, refusal to even denounce patent racists.

CHUCK TODD:

Senator Corker, Senator Booker, I'm going to leave it there. I thank you both for coming on together. Hopefully, we can make this a habit again on Meet the Press. Appreciate it.

SENATOR CORY BOOKER:

Thank you.

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